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Heru-pa-khered

Other Names:

Harpocrates

(G/R Harpocrates) - "Heru the Child" A specific form of Heru-sa-Aset as a youngster, written about profusely during the Greco-Roman periods, Heru-pa-Khered is depicted as a child holding one finger to his mouth (a direct copy of the hieroglyph for "child," not related to the modern meaning of "silence" we see in that gesture). Stele depicting Heru-pa-Khered standing on the back of a crocodile, holding snakes in His outstretched hands were erected in temple courtyards, where they would be immersed or lustrated in water; the water was then used for blessing and healing purposes as the Name was attributed with many protective and healing powers. It is perhaps ironic in this light that late myths describe Heru-pa-Khered as being both physically weak and incapable of protecting himself, relying upon the power of His mother Aset to protect Him until His manhood.